Peace in Exile
by Evil Cheshire Cat
Summary: Something is seriously wrong with Echizen that sends him to the hospital. When his sempais help him out, will everything end for the better? Just remembered; this will be yaoi! Probably FujiRyoma with OishiEiji and various one sided boysxRyoma
1. Default Chapter

"Peace in Exile"

Insert witty disclaimer that claims no ownership here Author's notes at the end of the story.

Ryoma slowly made his way down to the tennis courts. He was partially worried about being late, but he was truly more worried about the way his stomach had been coiling violently. Ever since this morning…he had left the house feeling okay. But during that walk…it felt like something was clawing through his stomach. He had simply winced and kept walking, hoping it would go away.

It hadn't gone away. All throughout the day the pain had grown to the point where he just wanted to leave the class and be sick. As if that wasn't enough, around ten that morning he had felt a strange stabbing sensation in his hands and to a lesser extent his feet. He had thought his feet had fallen asleep and were trying to wake up, while his fingers were just getting cramped from writing so much. He tried to ignore that with his stomach cramps.

He considered himself strong for making it through the day up until tennis practice. He had kept telling himself that it was a stomach flu or maybe he had eaten something past its expiration date. It would all go away; it wouldn't be so bad after awhile. One could get use to pain is if it was constant. But the pain in his body had doubled since that morning. It felt like something was in his stomach, trying to claw its way out, while his hands had started hurting a bit more to the point where he was tempted to just….cut them off. His feet he hadn't really noticed. He didn't want to notice if anything was wrong with them too; he had enough to worry about above the legs.

He wasn't going to miss school or practice because of it. He steeled himself to look normal. He needed to keep the lazy eyed look, not the pinched look of pain; he needed to walk a bit straighter, not hunched over; he needed…he needed to go home and maybe sleep it off.

The choice was taken from his hands though when he realized he was at the court. Others were all ready there, practicing obviously. He silently prayed there would be no laps to be run and no…ridiculous new exercises to keep stamina up. If he had to keep his stamina up, his breakfast would come up with it.

"Nyaaaaaaa" he could hear it off in the distance. "Nyaaaaa," getting closer. "NYA! Ochibi!" He only just stepped out of the way in time as a blur of white, blue and red passed him by. Kikumaru Eiji rolled to the ground before hopping to his feet. He pouted, "Ochibi-chan is mean!"

Ryoma pulled his hat down. He didn't say anything. He wasn't too sure he could say anything without allowing his pain to seep through. He just started walking into the practice area.

Eiji put his hands on his hips, pouting more. "Mou Ochibi, come back here!" He huffed as Ryoma didn't even acknowledge him. He went over to Oishi, grabbing HIM in a hug. "Ochibi's being mean! Make him stop!"

Oishi blinked. "Echizen….has always been kind of mean," he temporized. "I'm sure he doesn't mean it. Maybe he's just having a bad day, or he didn't get enough sleep. He does seem to be weaving a bit," he offered.

"Oh no! What if something is wrong with him??" Eiji looked at his boyfriend.

Oishi smiled, trying to assure him. "I'm sure it's nothing. And don't bother him about it…you know how stubborn he is."

"Maybe he NEEDS someone to bother him," came the sulky reply.

"Maybe not," there was a soft chuckle. "Let's just get to practicing. We'll make sure Echizen doesn't over do it."

"Hai" The red head sighed, putting his arms behind his head. He bounced a little before heading out onto the court.

* * *

Ryoma had made it through the first half of practice. Just barely though, in his opinion. Why couldn't there be just ONE exercise where you got to stand in one place and remain relatively still? It seemed like a good practice to him. But no, we can't listen to Ryoma.

He was half tempted to see if he could miss out on the rest of practice. He shook his head sharply and then winced at how that made him feel. He had felt Kikumaru-sempai's eyes on him through the whole thing. He wouldn't be weak. He wouldn't.

He blinked as a hand suddenly waved in front of him. He glared at Momo. "Oi, Echizen, I've been calling you for the last few minutes."

"What is it?" he got his first words of the day out. He really didn't want to talk, especially with the way it made his throat feel. It defined the lump in the back of it that was ready to cause him to be sick.

Momo rolled his violet eyes before sighing. "You got a match with the mamushi," he pointed out the court where Kaidoh had his arms crossed and was looking more angry than usual. "You better hurry."

"Momo! Come on!" Eiji called, "I wanna play now!"

The older boy gave Echizen a smile before running to the court.

Mock-matches. Who decided mock matches would be such a great tool for practice? And who decided he should be paired with Kaidoh-sempai? Out of all of them, he really didn't want to play him. Only Kaidoh-sempai had the tendency to still try and tire him out by running him back and forth. And he wasn't too sure he could handle that today.

He went to get his racquet. He grabbed it and it tumbled from his grasp. He stared at it before bending to pick it up. Only his fingers wouldn't grasp it. It was like something had frozen them; it was the pained sensation's fault. The pins and needles kept shooting through his palm and fingers, making it impossible to grasp the racquet's handle. "Fssssh, hurry up," he heard Kaidoh grumble angrily.

Finally, lucky decided to be on his side as the pain receded enough for him to grab the racquet. He frowned over the loose grip he was forced to keep on it but beggars were not allowed to be choosers at this point in time. He went over to the hiss mamushi. With the way Kaidoh was glaring at him, he was going to pay for making him wait. He watched the ball get served, watched it hit the ground and bounce up, watched it leave the court. He hadn't even made a run for it. He frowned more; he had been giving the signal to run, but nothing had happened. Maybe the pain he was experiencing was blocking all other signals.

Kaidoh was looking even more angry now; his facial expression clearly stated that Ryoma had better try or else. What the 'or else' was, the Freshman wasn't sure but he WAS sure he didn't want to find out.

Try he did as the next ball came to his court. He sprinted in the direction of the ball, but then the sharp pain that had prevented his griping of the racquet hit his feet. He stumbled as legs seemed to give out under him and he landed on the ground, scraping his knees. The pain shot back into his hands, making him drop the racquet, and he let out an involuntary gasp. "…Oi, gaki…." Kaidoh started as he looked from the ball to his fallen kouhai. Ryoma was breathing heavy. The slight start of tears were prickling against the corners of his eyes.

Ryoma felt like he had swallowed a dozen sharp knives that had taken place in his arms and legs. One of the knives must have gone into his stomach and burst whatever felt like it was growing in there. He could feel his insides being coated with acid; he couldn't feel his hands and feet any longer. He could hear the sounds of other practices going on but it was all distant, like he was in a tunnel and the practices were on the other side. He opened his mouth to do something, scream or ask for help or just to say "mada mada dane". But all that came out was what he had for breakfast and bile.

"O-oi!" Kaidoh actually yelped as he saw Ryoma curl slightly and throw up. He looked around a bit frantically. "Buchou!" he called. When he saw Tezuka look his way, he quickly pointed to the still tensed figure.

Tezuka's eyes widened and he made his way over to Ryoma. "Echizen," he said as he knelt down, carefully avoiding the acidy liquid on the ground. He moved the hat up so he could place a hand on the boy's forehead. The skin was so clammy and paler than usual. "You shouldn't have come to school if you were sick."

"Not…sick…" At least he didn't think he was. He had common colds before; he had had the flu before…nothing felt like this. He could hear and feel his heart; something seemed wrong with that too. It was going to fast and skipping, making his chest hurt. He choked to keep from heaving again.

Tezuka frowned more as he watched Ryoma gag violent before throwing up again. "Oishi!" he called to the vice-captain. "Get a nurse out here, quick!" Oishi blinked curiously, stopping his game with Taka-san. But as he saw the figures of their captain and a huddled freshman, he didn't waste anytime.

People were beginning to look over at them. Exactly what Ryoma didn't want. He felt heat rise to his cheeks. He was positive it was from just being sick, not from embarrassment. He was positive. "Echizen, focus," he heard the ever calm voice of Tezuka. "The nurse will be here soon. Do you think you can get off the courts?"

Ryoma just gagged more. He shouldn't be getting this sick so constantly. "Ochibi?!" Eiji called from his and Momo's area, hopping nervously from foot to foot. "What's wrong?? Are you gonna die? Unya! Don't die! We'll take better care of you! Honest!"

Tezuka promptly ignored the frantic redhead. "Kaidoh, come over here and help," he snapped. The snake like player still seemed at a loss so he docilely went over. "Take his other side." The two older players slowly lifted their kouhai between them. Ryoma just about crumpled between them. His stomach hurt so much….so did his chest. It hurt breathing; it hurt just being right now.

Kaidoh was not one prone to worrying, especially not for annoying, arrogant freshmen….but truthfully, he was beyond worried right now. Echizen was really sick. His feet were dragging across the ground, sometimes fumbling to keep up with them.

They set him on the bench, Kaidoh quickly pulling away and going to the side. Ryoma pulled down his hat a little, trying to hide his pained eyes. Never mind the fact that probably everyone had seen him get sick.

He heard the pounding feet, or was it his head?, and Oishi was back, panting a little. A little ways behind him came the nurse. She was by Ryoma in a second, removing his hat and checking him over. The young boy allowed the prodding for a minute when he felt the urge to hurl again. He shoved away from the woman, turning to the side go he give out more bile.

"Echizen-kun, I need you tell me your symptoms. I can't help you if you don't," the nurse said gently as she watched him press his cheek against the bench.

Ryoma looked at her with glazed eyes. "…Stomach hurts," he finally muttered, "hands hurt…..feet hurt." He tried concentrating, to get everything out.

The nurse petted his hair before looking up at the other regulars. "I'm going to call an ambulance; he needs to get to a hospital now."

Momo's eyes went big, "Hospital? He…isn't just sick?"

"I'm not sure what exactly is wrong with him but I think he really needs a doctor. Stay here with him," she commanded before standing and going back to the school.

The others slowly turned back to the pained boy. Eiji dropped besides the younger boy instantly. "Ochibi" he whimpered.

"….am I dying?" he questioned hoarsely, noticing the sad and worried look.

"Yes!" Eiji wailed.

"Eiji!" Oishi scolded, "We don't know he's dying; he's going to be fine. Don't tell him such things!"

Tezuka noticed that a lot of the other members of the tennis team had started looking at the small knit group. Oishi looked on as well. "Send them home, Tezuka," he said softly.

"Eh?" the captain frowned.

"They aren't going to keep practicing, not with Echizen lying here."

Tezuka frowned. He really thought they should keep practicing; they needed to keep practicing. But Oishi had a point; someone injured or violently sick got more notice. He looked at Oishi's pleading eyes; the vice captain was thinking more along the lines of saving what little of Ryoma's dignity was left. He looked back to the team, "The rest of practice is cancelled. Go home. We'll practice longer tomorrow," he snapped.

Groans reached his ears, the team's and Ryoma's soft ones. But at least they were leaving now. "Kikumaru-semapi…" he turned back to the Freshman. "Let go…" Eiji had straightened the boy up and was hugging him. "I think I'm going to be sick," he jerked back and started dry heaving. He was partially thankful that there was nothing left to give out, but it still hurt like hell.

"The rest of you can go," Tezuka commented, "I'll stay with Echizen."

"Nya! No way! Ochibi needs me!" Eiji shook his head.

"I don't think anyone would need that," Momo muttered and backed up a step at the glare he was given. That was all it took for the powerhouse to mutter a goodbye as he went to get his stuff. An angry Eiji was a scary Eiji.

"I'm staying too," Oishi commented, standing firm.

Tezuka sighed deeply, looking at the others. They looked like they wanted to stay as well but one look to their captain had them heading for their things. "You'll call us as soon as you find out what's wrong?" Fuji demanded seriously.

"Of course," he nodded.

What felt like hours later, there was the wailing sound of sirens and the nurse was leading two paramedics with a stretcher to the tennis courts. "He's right here," the nurse ignored the three other members of the team.

The gold colored nametags said the paramedics were Haruhiko and Masami. It seemed like such an odd thing for Ryoma to notice…But he wasn't really questioning it at this point. "Hey, kid, we're just going to lift you up, so you don't have to worry, okay?" Masami questioned.

Ryoma just stared at them. Soon enough he felt arms lifting his shoulders and then, he assumed, his feet. All he knew was that he could see his feet if he lolled his head just so and they were lying on the stretcher with him. Haruhiko looked at the three teens that were watching with varying degrees of worry; from looking like the kid was going to just lie down and die to almost looking as if nothing was wrong. "We'll be taking him to the nearest hospital, so if you want to be there you can find it."

"Thank you," Tezuka nodded slightly.

Eiji kept trailing the stretcher. "Be strong, Echizen-chan! Don't die on your way there!"

"He's not going to die!" Oishi repeated with a sigh, following his friend.

* * *

An hour had passed since the three Regulars had entered the hospital. Another had passed as they waited. And waited. Eiji looked at his outstretched feet, watching the tips go back and forth. He had finally calmed down after the first half hour and was starting to fall asleep.

Oishi was STILL pacing, not seeming to loose any nervous energy. Tezuka was sitting. Just sitting. Only the occasional shift showed his discomfort. Finally Oishi turned and went to the front. "Excuse me, is there any information on how Echizen Ryoma is doing?" he inquired as politely as possible.

The pretty nurse behind the desk looked at him curious. "Are you family of his?"

"Well…no…"

"I'm sorry, but we can only share information with family right now. Perhaps after his guardian comes and checks on him you can come in."

"…Ah, thank you." He slowly went to the row of chairs. "They won't let us see him….or tell us what's wrong until his father comes in."

Eiji let out a whine of frustration. "That could be forever …I'll need a snack!"

Oishi looked at his doubles partner. "…What? You're hungry at a time like this??"

"Worrying makes me so hungry" Eiji protested and went down one of the hallways. "Candy, candy, candy" he muttered, looking around, "Where is it?" He brightened as he spotted the vending machine and hurrying over to it. He started pumping it full of change. He was deciding on what to get when he heard voices.

"You hear about that new kid they brought in?" one voice was asking.

"The one from two hours ago?"

"Yeah. Apparently his father is refusing to come in. He said to just send the kid home when he's better."

"No way….what's the kid in for?"

"There were traces of arsenic in his system…Not enough to kill him, thankfully."

"Tch. Wouldn't want to be him…where did it come from?"

"Well it's everywhere; it might just be that too much got in his system or something."

Eiji could hear them coming down the hall and scurried to get back to Oishi and Tezuka. A few seconds later, he came back, quickly pressing the button for his candy.

Oishi jerked as Eiji suddenly latched onto him. "Eiji?" he asked in surprise.

"It's so sad! We won't be able to see Ochibi until he's all better!" he practically wailed.

"Keep your voice down," Tezuka advised as people looked at them.

"How do you know we won't be able to see him?" Oishi asked gently.

"I heard two doctors talking and…and they said that Echizen-chan's 'tousan was refusing to come in!" Eiji said in a rush.

Tezuka took a sudden interest in the conversation. "They were talking about Echizen?"

Eiji nodded eagerly. "They said he was suffering from…anou…arsenic poisoning" He fidgeted, "Is that really bad? I've never known anyone to have that"

"I've heard of it," Oishi shrugged a little, "But only in passing. Tezuka?"

The captain shook his head. "It's curable I would guess. Unless you heard differently, Kikumaru?"

Eiji shook his head, hair whipping about a bit. "They…they said it wasn't going to kill him…"

"Well that's good news, ne?"

"But I want to see Ochibi!"

Everyone was looking at them again and the nurse gave them a warning look. "Maybe…we should go. Since we know he's okay," Oishi pointed out.

"But…but…Oishi!"

"We wouldn't be able to see him tonight. Maybe his father will come in tomorrow and we can visit."

Eiji was pouting. "Oishi isn't fair."

"I don't make the rules," he protested.

"But you're Oishi." The cat like player said in frustration. Tezuka rolled his eyes a little and stood.

The doubles partners looked up. "I'd suggest you both go home and rest," he commented, "we have practice."

"Unya?" Eiji blinked. "But, buchou!"

"Do you want twenty laps?"

"….You can't give out laps" Eiji protested weakly.

"I don't think he cares right now…we'd better go," Oishi took his friend's arm, pulling him up. The three left the hospital and went their separate ways.

* * *

Eiji had sulked all night. He had sulked all day and he was going to keep on sulking until he got to see his kouhai. Oishi had commented that might be a long time but Eiji was up for that challenge.

Tezuka had been crowded almost immediately by the more concerned and vocal members of the team, Taka-san and Momo respectively. All their buchou had said was that it seemed serious and Ryoma would just have to tell them about it when he came out of the hospital. This hadn't really satisfied Momo, who wound up getting thirty laps for all his questioning.

Practice had passed in a blur for most of the members of the team. It felt like it had only just started when Oishi was calling out that everyone had done a good job. Eiji went to the locker, still sulking of course.

"You seemed pretty down at practice," Fuji commented to his friend as they began changing.

"I want to visit Ochibi-chan," he muttered in a petulant voice.

The ever smiling tensai looked to him after pulling on his shirt. "Come with me to see him then."

"We can't His father has to give permission."

"Actually, it just has to be one of his emergency contact."

"Nya?"

"My family was put as second emergency contact." Fuji cocked his head, "I was surprised when we got the call last night."

"You were called and you didn't tell me??? Fuuuuuuuujiiiiii!" Eiji grabbed his friend's shoulders and shook him a little.

Fuji chuckled a little, "Ah gomen, gomen…but it was later in the night. They finally decided to try us after they were positive his father wasn't going to come in or give any kind of permission. And if you stop shaking me, I'll let you tag along on my visit."

The shaking immediately stopped. "Take me with! Take me with!" Eiji bounced eagerly.

Fuji started buttoning his shirt. "Get changed quick, then, ne?"

Eiji did just that. Fuji was fairly sure he had never seen, and probably wouldn't see again, someone get out of a pair of clothes and into a new set THAT fast. Seconds later he was being dragged from the locker room and towards the hospital. "Gonna see Ochibi!" Eiji cheered happily, causing Fuji to smile more.

When they went in, Fuji went directly to the nurse's station. Eiji peeked around him. It was a male nurse today. "Hello, I'm Fuji Syusuke. We're here to see Echizen Ryoma please. What room is he in?"

The nurse glanced at them and then down into his book. "Ah, he's been transferred into room 314."

"Thank you," Fuji said as he and Eiji went to the elevator. Fuji wondered how exactly the elevator could handle both his and Eiji's combined weight plus the weight of Eiji's bouncing. When they got out, Fuji was being dragged again down the halls.

Eiji only gave the barest of knocks as he entered the room of 314. He almost recoiled at the scent of anti-septic and cleaning fluid. It had been a tolerable level outside of the room but it seemed almost overpowering in here. But he braved on, stepping in so he could see his little Freshman friend.

Ryoma had been hooked up to an IV and heart monitor. Every so often, the monitor bleeped and the line would go spastic as his heart skipped beats or went one beat too fast. An oxygen mask had been placed against his face, hissing softly in the background. He looked so small and pale lying in a large hospital bed surrounded by white.

"…Ochibi…" Eiji rushed over. "They said you were going to be okay!"

Ryoma blinked, head lolling. "….Kikumaru-sempai?" his voice was muffled by the mask but they could still hear the grogginess behind it.

Fuji came over as well. "We came to check on you. I didn't realize you were in such….bad shape," he commented as he noticed the machines.

Ryoma's head lolled again. He lifted the hand that had had the IV stuck in it. It flopped back down. "They had to start me on sedatives when the pain got worse….I can feel my feet again though," he pointed out almost cheerfully. The boy was drugged to the gills; of course he was going to be cheerful in that respect.

"And the oxygen?"

"Precaution…I stopped breathing for a little while last night….and it hurt to breath on my own." He looked at them again. "Can I go home soon?" he asked in such a pitiful voice. It had to be the drugs again; the freshman they knew wouldn't be so vulnerable.

Fuji patted his hand, "I'm sure you'll be released in no time."

"And we'll come and visit you every day!" Eiji assured. "And sneak you in good food None of this icky hospital food!" He beamed as that brought a dazed smile to the mini-prodigy's lips.

Ryoma uttered a soft sound. "….what'd I miss in practice?" he murmured.

"Nothing really," Eiji put his arms behind his head, "The ball went from one side of the court and then to the other" There was a snort and the oxygen mask fogged up with hot air. Eiji grinned. "I like Ochibi this way! He's adorable!"

Fuji smiled, "I really doubt anyone will let us keep him drugged for the rest of the time we know him."

"Mou," he pouted. He petted Ryoma's hair. "I think Echizen-chan would like that He'd never be grumpy again!"

"But would he be the Echizen we know and love then?"

"Well…eto…eto…Fuji's mean!"

"Because I said the truth?" Fuji asked in amusement.

"Hai. Ochibi, we're ignoring Fuji for the rest of this visit" Eiji huffed, turning a little from the other boy. Ryoma just stared at them. "Has your dad come to visit you?" he questioned.

Ryoma's head lolled from left to right. "No," he said after he realized that probably hadn't been recognized as a yes or no. "I don't think he will…"

"Poor Ochibi How did you get sick?"

There was the smallest of shrugs. "They think it might have been something I ate…like maybe some of the fish…" There was a wince.

Fuji leaned forward, "Are you all right, Echizen?"

"Thinking about food makes me sick…" He made a face.

"I'm sure that'll pass."

"Un, un!" Eiji agreed, "And when you do, you tell us, okay? The food here wouldn't make me hungry at all"

Ryoma smiled again. The trio spent another half hour just talking about whatever crossed their minds. It was mostly Ryoma repeating questions due to the fact the drugs were really clouding his mind. "We should go," Fuji commented finally, standing. "They might kick us out soon."

"You're leaving…? You just got here," Ryoma actually protested.

Fuji actually looked a little surprised for a moment before he smiled and patted Ryoma's hand. "We'll be back tomorrow. Maybe we'll bring the others too."

"Not Inui!" Eiji protested. "He'll try and make a juice that'll poison him again No Inui!"

"But his Echizen's sempai too."

"No, no, no, no" Eiji shook his head as they left the hospital room. Ryoma could hear them arguing, actually just Eiji arguing, as he slowly drifted to sleep.

* * *

Two days later, Ryoma was released from the hospital. The doctors weren't too happy with this since he still had traces of arsenic in his body and they wanted to monitor it longer. But Ryoma had become difficult for them. It was just easier to release him.

They had firmly forbidden him from tennis for awhile though; he was still having occasional spasms in his feet and hands that would make walking and griping things too difficult. He had to go in every day for EDTA injections, which he really didn't like. Now he had to take all kinds of vitamins iron and alfalfa in them. He had been tempted on more than one occasion to just leave them at home. But with his luck, one missed time with pills would send him right into the hospital again.

He griped at the chain link fence, watching his sempais playing. He scowled unhappily. He brightened ever so slightly when he spotted someone. "Oi, oi," he called out a little low so no one else noticed, "Momo-sempai!"

Momo blinked, looking in his direction. He went over, bending down some to face his kouhai. "Echizen? Aren't you supposed to be at home about now?"

"…No. The doctors said I was better," he lied. "Want to play a game?"

"Eh? If you're better, why aren't you in practice?"

"Ah….I'm going to be. Tomorrow. Buchou said he'd give me one more day of rest, but I'm really better now." It was amazing how easily he could lie when he really wanted something.

Momo stretched, putting his racquet against his shoulder. "I didn't think Buchou would be THAT nice…But he'll probably give me laps if I don't practice."

"It'll be just like practicing. I'm a member of the team too, right?"

"Well…." Momo frowned, thinking it over.

"Echizen? Momo? What's going on?" Oishi suddenly broke in, looking at them a little suspiciously. "You're not supposed to be here, Echizen."

"….Momo-sempai, I told you I couldn't play tennis." Ryoma turned away with a slight huff.

"Nani?!" Momo yelped, falling over. "But…you said…!"

Oishi turned to Momo with a glare, "You know he's only just got out of the hospital." He put his fists on his hips.

Momo jabbed a finger at the smirking Ryoma. "But he said…! He said…! He was better!" he practically whimpered as the glare intensified.

"I'm sure Echizen knows his own limits and wouldn't run the risk of getting sick again by doing strenuous exercise. I just…can't believe you!"

Ryoma snickered silently behind Oishi's back. "But, Oishi-sempai…" Momo started.

"I should tell Tezuka…if you're going to be provoking Echizen…"

"I wasn't!" Momo protested again. "He was standing here and HE asked ME to play!" Oishi shook his head, going in the direction of their buchou. Both younger boy watched him for a moment before Momo slowly turned to Ryoma, twitching a little. "Echizen! You lied to me!"

"….Look at the time, I should go." Ryoma commented, looking at his wrist even though it didn't have a watch. He started walking hurriedly.

"I'll get you for this Echizen!"

"Momoshiro!" he heard Tezuka snap. "Fifty laps!"

"He said he was better!" he practically wailed.

* * *

The following day Ryoma was feeling even better. He had gone through class with little problem. He had felt the barest of twinges in his finger and a slight tingle in his feet but that had gone away. He had even been able to start eating again.

He was planning on talking to Oishi or Tezuka to see if he could maybe play one or two games. They might after he explained how good he was feeling. At least he had been feeling better until he spotted Momo. He tensed up, turned around and started creeping away. "Echizen!" he snapped.

He'd been caught! He bolted the opposite direction. "Echizen, get back here!" He heard Momo begin pursuing him. "Get back here!"

"No chance, Momo-sempai!" he called over his shoulder. He dodged nimbly around other students and smirked to himself as he heard outraged yelps as Momo plowed directly into them.

It was unfortunate that he didn't really notice the two students stepping out of one of the classrooms. He rammed into one, sending them both to the floor. "…Nya! Ochibi is glomping me for a change!" Eiji giggled a little.

Ryoma wondered if he should bless his luck that it hadn't been a stranger or curse it because it was Eiji. He glanced up, realizing the other person was Fuji. "Where were you running to?" Fuji questioned.

The young Freshman tensed up as he heard pounding footsteps. He practically slithered across Eiji until he was on the cool floor. He shoved his sempai into a sitting position and pressed his back tightly against him, hiding from view. "Fuji-sempai? Eiji-sempai?" Momo questioned, "Have you seen Echizen?"

Both of the older boys stared at him. "…He's not here," Ryoma said in a lighter voice than his normal one. He carefully nudged his hand under Eiji's lifting it to point in one direction. "He went that way."

"Thanks, Eiji-sempai! …You might want to go to the nurse; your voice sounds funny." Momo commented, too distracted to notice that Eiji's mouth hadn't actually moved. He rushed off in the direction Eiji had "pointed" to.

Ryoma peeked out from behind his sempai and smirked. "That was easy."

"….What was that about?" Fuji questioned, looking amused.

The boy stood up, dusting himself off. "Momo-sempai is angry with me for yesterday is all. I think I can avoid him." He looked at the two. "Have you seen Oishi-sempai or Buchou?"

"I think they went to the courts all ready. Going to see if you can join in today?" Fuji questioned.

"Hn. What else is there to do but tennis?"

"Ochibi should be resting!" Eiji protested, scrambling up. "Getting lots and lots of sleep until you're better"

"I AM better." Ryoma huffed, heading out for the courts. He was aware of Eiji and Fuji following him but chose not to acknowledge him. He checked around, making sure Momo wasn't anywhere in sight before he went over to the captain and vice captain. "Oishi-sempai, Buchou…I want to start playing again.

Oishi gave him his customary worried look while Tezuka just gazed at him for a moment. "No," Tezuka finally said.

"Heee?" Ryoma frowned. "But I'm better now. I can play."

"The doctors told Fuji's family you shouldn't play at least for a week."

Ryoma blinked and then turned to glare at Fuji, who was going into the locker room. "Fuji-sempai!"

Fuji just smiled, "Saaaaa….I didn't say it; the doctors did."

"But, Buchou, I honestly know-"

"Echizen! There you are!" came an all too familiar voice. Ryoma looked over his shoulder and tensed once more. "Get over here!"

"Yada!" he practically yelped before ducking behind Oishi.

"Momo, are you harassing Echizen again??" Oishi demanded.

Momo started, as if just noticing the two older players. "Ah…..Oishi-sempai…I…wasn't harassing him!"

"He was trying to hurt me," Ryoma offered.

"I was not! Echizen, you…you…."

"Momoshiro, forty laps!" Tezuka snapped.

"But, buchou!"

"Sixty!"

"This just isn't fair…."

TBC

Author's Note I promised: Second posted PoT story. I apologize for the OOC-ness you see. Especially on Momo's part. I tell you I adore him. I really do….it just he comes out weird in fics. ;

I also know that there's going to be a LOT of medical BS in this story; but who doesn't BS some in their stories? I'm surprised I did research at all instead of making it up as I went along.

Also, I reason Sakuno's family would be the next as emergency contact. But since I despise her, I'm going to try and deny her very existence.

And finally, say thank you to Baki-chan if you like this fic. She's the one that's making me write it every day XD


	2. And now for something different: Angst!

Peace in Exile

More wittiness claiming no ownership.

Author's notes before the fic: Thank you for all the reviews! I really appreciate them. :D

I want to warn that…now we enter AU country and people-are-going-to-maim-me country. Nanjiroh is OOC and I forgot to mention in the first chapter that Ryoma's mom is like…dead and his cousin isn't there. If you hurt me, please leave enough of me to write If you are looking for Sakuno, you will not find her. I will keep repeating, she is not in this fic. Even if it's logical that her family would be emergency contact, she is not appearing her. If you want a really good excuse that'll make you go "Now THAT makes sense"….you're not getting one. **I just plain hate here enough to keep her out of my fics.

* * *

**

Finally a week had passed and Ryoma was permitted to do light playing. That wasn't so bad. It meant no laps and he was pretty much exempt from drinking Inui's juice. Everything had returned to normal. Momo had left him alone after he'd offered some of his lunch to the older boy.

He had slowly gotten into the habit of taking his pills. Whenever he DID start to forget, at least during lunch time, Oishi was always there. He was beginning to think his sempai was a bit of a stalker. He was surprised Oishi didn't call him in the morning and evening to make sure he took them then.

It was the third day of reentry into practice when he noticed he was feeling lethargic. He played that off as to one night of restless sleep. It was nothing serious.

As he waited for practice to begin, he slumped back a little. His eyes closed and opened slowly. He felt himself drifting off. He pillowed his head on his tennis bag, yawning a little.

Suddenly he was being shaken awake. "Echizen, time to wake up," came a voice but it seemed so distant. "Echizen? Echizen?"

One eye slowly opened and peered into Fuji's face. "….fuji-sempai…?" came the groggy tone. His throat felt a little swelled, as if he'd been asleep for a few hours.

"Oh good," Fuji smiled; Ryoma only realized then that it had been missing from the tensai's face. "I've been calling you for the past five minutes."

"….when did you get in my room, fuji-sempai?"

The older boy's eyes opened at that statement. "You're in the tennis court. It's time for practice."

Ryoma looked around with his one opened eye. Sure enough, other students were there and all ready starting. So unless they had relocated practice to his room, he was indeed at the courts. "…Oh."

"Come on, we better get started, ne?" Fuji held out his hand. Ryoma tried to lift himself off the ground but found none of his limbs were working. "Echizen?" He finally got his arms under him and pushed himself up. Only to fall back onto the ground. "Are you okay?"

"Hai. Fine," he grumbled. He tried pushing himself up again and let out a startled gasp as pain went through his hands.

Fuji was crouching down now. "Echizen? You're looking a little pale…"

"I'm fine," he ground out, trying to hide his discomfort. He finally got himself into a sitting position. The sudden switch caused his head to swim with dizziness.

"Maybe I should talk to-"

"No, Fuji-sempai. I'm fine." Ryoma hesitated for a moment, doing an inner battle with himself. Finally he said in a voice that Fuji had to lean in to hear. "…Could you…just help me up though?" He didn't want to admit he was having problems.

The tensai smirked a little before he got his hands under Ryoma's elbows. The two stood up; the Freshman leaning suddenly against Fuji. "There you go," his smiled seem kind of odd today. He probably was enjoying the fact that he had gotten Ryoma to ask for help.

"…Thanks," he muttered, pulling away quickly. For a minute, it seemed like he'd wind up back on the ground because his legs were wobbling so much, but he kept his balance. He took deep breaths. Slowly the pain went away and he could feel his hands and feet without pain again. "…What?" he scowled at Fuji, who was still watching him.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Fine, Fuji-sempai," he grumbled. "We better get to practice before Buchou gives us laps." He quickly walked onto the courts before Fuji could give any kind of a reply. Fuji followed, trying to keep a close eye on Ryoma. He wasn't so sure Ryoma was as fine as he said. He noticed how the boy winced in pain though he tried to hide it.

But he was right. He didn't want to get stuck doing laps really. Especially if he wanted to keep an eye on Ryoma.

* * *

Ryoma was more than a little confused. He felt like someone had calmly sat on his back and happily shoved cotton in his ears and mouth up into his brain during practice. Was he supposed to feel this way? The doctors hadn't mentioned grogginess as a side effect; in fact, they had said he might have problems sleeping since a lot of the vitamins were bound to give him energy.

He had stumbled home in a daze, thankful no one had really noticed him slip away. As soon as he had gotten home, he had downed five glasses of cool water. That helped to clear some of the cotton away.

He looked around the house. It was so quiet; as quiet as their house in America had been. At least then his mother had been a constant background noise almost. Now it was empty. He paused. No…there was some noise but it was muffled.

He wandered to the living room. His father was on the phone. But his voice seemed distant and echo-y. Much like the other tennis club members' voices had been about eight days ago. His father was grinning and laughing over something the person on the other end was telling him. Ryoma wanted to stay and listen but it was like listening to a foreign film with no subtitles.

It was just better to go upstairs. He gripped the railing on the stairs in a white knuckled grasp. When he got to the top, he was panting a little. He winced and made his way to his room. He collapsed onto the bed, not bothering to take off his tennis outfit. He hadn't even bother changing into his school uniform after practice. It had just seemed like too much energy to bother with.

With a sigh, he squirmed around until he was under the covers. He frowned in confusion as he realized his feet felt heavy. He lifted the covers. He hadn't even bothered to take off his shoes. He smacked his forehead. Well, he wasn't about to go all the way downstairs again. He really just couldn't get out of bed now.

He closed his eyes and within seconds he was asleep.

He didn't dream. At least he was pretty sure he didn't. It was just the warm inky blackness in the deepest parts of sleep. He was more than positive that he got more than the recommended eight hours of sleep needed, but when he was shaken awake, it felt as if he had only got an hour.

"…N-nani?" he muttered groggily. He looked around for what may have awakened.

Nanjiroh Echizen stood by his bed. He frowned some…almost as if he was disappointed Ryoma had woken up. But that was ridiculous. "You're going to be late, shounen."

Okay, maybe he WAS disappointed he woke up. His father loved watching him scramble to keep from being late. It seemed to be one of his few past times with his son anymore. Ryoma sat up, blinking slowly. He looked down at himself. He had forgotten to take off his shoes….again. He frowned before shrugging. At least he was prepared though.

He stood, yawning. He grabbed his bag on the way out. If he noticed Nanjiroh's smirk, he didn't comment on it. "Oi, shounen! Don't forget your pills, even if you are late!"

"Haaaaai," he intoned as he headed for the door. "There in my bag."

"Good. We don't want you having a relapse."

"Hn," was all he got as he disappeared out the door.

* * *

"Is everyone here?" Tezuka questioned, looking around at all the gathered members. The afternoon sun shone brightly on the courts, heating them. Odds were, many were going to be complaining of being over worked soon because of it.

Oishi checked and then smiled. "I think so." He hesitated. "Eh, wait, Echizen isn't here."

"Echizen?" Tezuka frowned. Sure enough the capped boy wasn't there. It was kind of hard to miss the Freshman.

"We should find him!"

"We'll send someone else. We at least need to start practice."

"Are you sure that's wise?"

"Echizen probably just lost track of time."

Oishi didn't think so. He knew Tezuka didn't think so either; he was covering up any worry he might be having. He went to find someone to find their wayward rookie. "Taka-san!"

Taka-san glanced up, lowering his hand when he had been reaching for his racquet that Fuji was handing to him. "Oishi?"

"Could you see if you could go find Echizen? He isn't here." Oishi ignored the disappointed look Fuji gave; he really didn't want to know if the tensai had anything planned that needed Taka-san holding his racquet.

"Eh?" Taka-san confirmed Echizen wasn't there before nodding. "Sure. No problem." He smiled before heading off the courts.

Taka-san headed into the locker room first, deciding to check there in the off chance that he was still changing. There was only one Freshman there and it wasn't their super rookie. "Eto, have you seen Echizen?"

The boy looked up. "Echizen?" He thought back. "We have the same last class together and he was there….I think he was sleeping. Pretty heavily too."

"Ah, thanks!" Taka-san hurried out of the room and into the school building. It had emptied out fast. Apparently a lot of people had things to do today. He walked down the halls, listening to his shoes tap against the cool floor. He reached Ryoma's classroom, doing a quick gaze around to see if the boy was in the hall. He wasn't.

He opened the door to the room. "Echizen?" he called, "Are you here?" His eyes drifted down to scan the floor as well. His gaze doubled in size as he saw Ryoma sprawled on the ground. "Echizen!" He rushed over, kneeling down and pulling the boy into a sitting position. Ryoma lied still. His chest barely moved as he didn't respond to Taka-san's frantic call. Taka-san shook him sharply. When that didn't work, he leaned in to see if Ryoma was still alive. He felt the barest rush of air against his ear. But there was too much time in-between those tiny signs of breathing.

"Oi, oi, Echizen!" Taka-san scooped him up. He was about ready to panic. Who did he go to? Buchou! Buchou would know what to do! No, wait, that might take too much time! The nurse then. That was probably better anyway.

He hurried from the room, going down the halls once more. He practically ran to the nurse's office, hoping she hadn't left for the day. "Nurse Kita?" he called out.

The woman didn't glanced up from her writing, "What is, Kawamura?" she asked in a distracted tone, trying to finish up quickly so she could get home.

"It's Echizen!" Taka-san said as he went over to her. "He isn't waking up!"

Now Kita did look up. Her eyes widened as she looked at the pale boy that looked practically dead in the older boy's grasp. "Put him on the cot. Where did you find him?" she demanded.

"He was in one of the classrooms," he said as he set his burden down, "I went to find him for practice and he was just lying there."

She quickly took Ryoma's pulse before standing and going to the phone. Taka-san watched worriedly as she picked up the phone. She glanced at him, smiling weakly. "You best go back to practice, Kawamura….don't worry, ne?"

"But…." He started.

"Just go, please." Finally he did as she asked. He wanted to stay. He wanted to make sure Ryoma wasn't dead or dying….but she wanted him to leave. He wasn't too sure he'd be going back to practice. In fact, he knew he wouldn't.

He leaned against the wall outside the nurse's office. Maybe when Ryoma's father came, he could inquire then. At least if that's who Kita was calling. He started running through his mind all that may have caused this to happen to the boy. There wasn't much that he could think of outside of maybe one of Inui's juices. But Ryoma hadn't been forced to touch the stuff since the incident.

He was startled from his thoughts when he heard the wail of sirens. He was even more startled when the doors opened and allowed two ambulance workers in. Taka-san stared as they went to the nurse's office, not even looking at him.

"Man this has got to be one of the most unlucky freshman I've ever worked with," one of them was muttering. They went in and soon came out, Ryoma lying on the stretched they had brought along.

"Not looking good for him," the other attendant agreed. Taka-san followed them out, unsure of exactly why he was. He should just go back to the courts. Wait for the information to come to him; not go after the information.

When they left the building, they saw that apparently the sound of sirens had drawn the attention of the tennis club. "Echizen!" Momo yelped as he spotted who was lying on the stretcher.

Tezuka stepped to Taka-san, "What happened?"

"I…I'm not too sure. I went to look for him and…" Taka-san shrugged helplessly.

"Fuji!" Tezuka turned to the other boy that had trailed after him, "You'll have to tell us what happened if the doctors find out."

Fuji's eyes slitted open as he watched the ambulance pull away. "Un," he agreed softly.

* * *

"Fuji Why does this keep happening?" Eiji clung to his friend.

Fuji wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I don't know…" Shortly after Ryoma had been taken in, the doctors had called Fuji's family. Soon after that, Fuji had been called on his cell phone. He hadn't gotten it right away because everyone had been trying to practice without thinking about their super rookie.

"He's going to be okay, right?" he looked up at him.

Fuji frowned, "I don't know…he's in a coma."

"Coma!"

"All I was told was he somehow slipped into it…some time after he collapsed after class."

"But he'll be okay, right? He was okay before!"

"I really don't know, Eiji. I really don't."

* * *

The doctor's name was Yasashiku Saito. He had been assigned the case of Echizen Ryoma. It hadn't started out as a case. It just seemed to be luck against the kid by getting him sick. He had bounced back fairly quickly. It wouldn't have even been a case this time really; just luck again.

But it had been strange. He had seen traces of arsenic in his stomach again; that would have just confirmed, probably, his theory that it was something in Ryoma's diet that had made him become ill. Only no other patients had come in; if it had been something he ate, other people would have shown signs of illness as well. But no one had come in or reported symptoms.

Another thing was mostly the only contents of his stomach were arsenic and traces of the capsules. The only other idea was that one of the pills they had given him had contained arsenic. But that was impossible since that's what it was trying to clear up.

Still, stranger things had happened. But they had only found one bottle of bills in Ryoma's bag. It had been indicated that Ryoma had been given two; one that had vitamins and alfalfa and the other that had more vitamins and iron. The bottle he had held was normal; just the condensed items needed to leech away the arsenic.

This is what made it into a case. It may have been nothing, but Saito had to think of his patient's well being first. That's why he had come to the school with a police officer by the name of Ito. He watched Ito inquiring the young boy before them as he leaned against the desk. "So, Kachirou, wasn't it?" The boy nodded. "Did you notice anything strange with Echizen when he came out of hospital?"

"Eto….he seemed kind of fidgety but that was probably due to not playing tennis," Kachirou said softly, "He really likes playing."

Ito smiled. "I'm sure he does. So that wasn't out of the ordinary, all circumstances considered. Anything else?"

Kachirou thought for a moment. "A few days ago…he started looking really tired. We didn't think anything of it because he might not have gotten enough sleep. But then he started falling asleep in class and before practice…We thought it might have been the medication he was taking."

The police officer sat back. "I see. Well thank you, Kachirou. You can go." Kachirou looked relieved. He quickly stood and left. Ito looked at Saito. "That was helpful," he sighed.

Saito shook his head. "It wasn't the medication. His vitamins would have actually kept him awake a little longer than usual at night."

"Then maybe he just couldn't get to sleep. I have a few more people to check out. I'll tell you what I find."

Saito waved him off, rubbing his head. It wasn't adding up. He heard the door closed and sighed. He flopped into one of the desks. This was getting him no where. He was about to get up to return to the hospital and looked over the medical analysis again when he noticed an amber glint under the row of cupboards by the windows. He went over, crouching. He grinned in triumph as he realized it was the missing pill bottle.

Maybe the answers would be in it. He hoped they would be. There weren't many answers anywhere else.

TBC

Author's Notes After the fic: I'm sorry about the length. I wanted to get something out before my time got busy (this is the month of math tests and sociology papers, I swear.). So….I hope you enjoyed it.

I know you're wondering about the FujiRyoma and BoysRyoma. I have to admit it's hard for me to introduce couples. I'm much better at pairings that all ready are. I'm gonna try in the next chapter to get some FujiRyoma and maybe some MomoRyoma if possible.


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